Valentine: Nobody safe from Congress

Friday, September 11, 2009By Phil Valentine, Guest Columnist

Congress is back in session and nobody's safe. It's a matter of time before we see if the raucous town hall meetings had any effect on a Democratic majority bent on forcing an unwanted and unneeded healthcare package down the throats of the American people.

All the major polls are showing that Americans are pretty happy with their healthcare and their health insurance. Are they completely satisfied? Certainly not, but I doubt there's much in anyone's lives in which they're completely satisfied. Comprehensive healthcare reform, the centerpiece of Barack Obama's presidency, continues to be a solution in search of a problem.

There are at least 50 so-called Blue Dog Democrats in the House who continue to stand in the way of the liberal agenda of Pelosi and company. Polling now shows that twice as many Americans identify themselves as conservative as those who call themselves liberal. This is still a center-right country being governed by a radically leftist, if not socialist, government.

A recent Reuters headline read, "Lawmakers seek survival in unpopular Congress." That pretty much sums up where we are. President Obama and the congressional leadership are fighting an uphill battle not only in winning over Republicans but in getting the more moderate factions within their own party to ignore the obvious will of their own constituents.

It's a case of moving too far too fast but it's the only course of action left for a congressional leadership that finds itself seriously out of step with the rest of the nation. Time is running out for the congressional Democrats. Once we enter the election year of 2010 they will find even less appetite for thumbing noses at voters in order to fulfill the Democrats dream of hooking a majority of Americans on government dependence.

The Democrats' healthcare bill offers subsidies to anyone making 400 percent of the poverty level. According to a study by CNSNews.com, that means a family of 8 making $148,000 per year can receive a government handout. When the dust settles, that will essentially mean that 61.5 percent of the population will qualify for the "affordability credits."

Make no mistake about it; this is the end game for the liberals who now have a death grip on our country. The goal has always been to find a way to get at least 50 percent of Americans dependent on the government. The healthcare issue is the lynchpin of the entire socialist agenda. That's why we're now witnessing this high level of frustration in Congress. The clock is ticking and they know it. All the Republicans have to do is keep pushing this issue back until the Christmas recess and the game is over.

The question now becomes how long can the Republicans stall? There seems to be a self-imposed urgency on the part of some Republicans to pass something just so they don't appear to be obstructionists. That's not what the people were saying at those town hall meetings. They would rather see no bill than a bad bill.

This is where this game will be played out between now and the first of the year. The liberals in Congress will lean on the moderate lawmakers to get something done so they can demonstrate an air of cooperation and compromise. They need to understand one thing. The American people don't want compromise on an issue that will change the very trajectory of this nation. They want steadfastness from their elected officials that they will protect them from this full-frontal assault on capitalism. We live in a representative republic. It's time for our elected officials to start representing.